CARB and CALSTART hosted their first Zero Emission Truck Showcase and Ride and Drive at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., earlier this month, showcasing 25 OEMs and fleet operators including Xos, GreenPower Motor Co., Ford, GM, Kenworth, Navistar, Nikola, Hyundai, Workhorse, BYD, Phoenix Motorcars, Orange EV, Lion Electric, AME, Lightning eMotors, Hyzon, Motiv Power Systems, Kalmar, Peterbilt and Hexagon Purus Systems.
CALSTART reports 498 people were in attendance. The event included 23 trucks available for ride and drives, with an additional 17 on display. Overall 729 ride and drives were completed.
All the participating vehicles are eligible under California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). Launched by the California Air Resources Board in 2009 and administered by CALSTART, HVIP provides vouchers to California-based businesses and other organizations who are transitioning their fleets to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). The 2021-2022 funding round is the biggest in HVIP history and the first round, which opened on March 30, offered $196.6 million in standard HVIP funding with additional funding becoming available later this year. To date, HVIP has funded over 9,000 clean trucks and buses — 60% of which are located in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental pollution.
With this year’s investment, HVIP’s cumulative impact since its inception has utilized over $1 billion to put cleaner vehicles on the road. In addition, we held a number of training sessions on fleet planning, financing and incentives as well as charging infrastructure.
“We urgently need cleaner heavy-duty vehicles on the road, especially in underserved communities that are overburdened by truck pollution. The industry is ready to meet this challenge and the vehicles here are available for purchase today,” said Kevin Walkowicz, senior director of CALSTART’s truck initiative. “When fleet managers and drivers experience these vehicles firsthand, they appreciate the technology and the great performance.”
Images courtesy of Brandon Bashir, CALSTART.
